I’m continuing my review of the amendments to Tajikistan’s Tax Code. The first part, which covered the higher VAT threshold, the new tiered rate under the simplified regime, minimum wages, and the e-commerce tax, is available at the link.

This time I’m looking at two points that even we almost got tangled up in, until we carefully cross-checked every article of the draft law against each other. First, the real ceiling for the simplified taxation system in Tajikistan is being raised not to 3 million somoni (roughly USD 325,000), as the first part might have suggested, but to 7 million somoni (roughly USD 755,000). Second, the list of activities barred from the simplified regime altogether is being expanded so far that it hits a large slice of small business, regardless of whether it’s registered as an LLC or a sole proprietor.

The real simplified-regime ceiling isn’t 3 million somoni — it’s 7

In the first part, we wrote about the threshold for mandatory VAT registration — it is indeed being raised from 1 to 3 million somoni (roughly USD 108,000 to USD 325,000), under Article 245 of the Tax Code. But the VAT threshold and the ceiling of the simplified taxation system itself are two different things. Under the draft law, the simplified regime itself can be used up to an annual income of 7 million somoni (roughly USD 755,000), and this applies equally to sole proprietors operating under a certificate and to LLCs (Articles 373 and 374 of the draft law).

Within that range, there are effectively two different regimes.

Up to 3 million somoni, everything works the same way we described in the first part. The tax is calculated on turnover, at a tiered rate: 6% up to 500,000 somoni (roughly USD 54,000), 4% from 500,000 to 2 million somoni (roughly USD 54,000–216,000), and 3% from 2 to 3 million somoni (roughly USD 216,000–325,000), under Article 380.

From 3 to 7 million somoni, a new tier appears. Here the tax is no longer calculated on turnover but on the difference between income and expenses — closer to ordinary corporate income tax, but under preferential rules (Article 374, part 4). Taxpayers in this bracket are exempt from corporate income tax and from the income tax on sole proprietors operating under a certificate (new part 6 of Article 374), but they are required to pay VAT at a reduced rate of 3%, without the right to offset input VAT (amendment to paragraph 2, part 1 of Article 264).

Above 7 million somoni, a sole proprietor has only one path left: registering as a legal entity and switching to the general tax regime (Article 373, part 2).

Who will no longer have access to the simplified taxation system in Tajikistan

This part is more serious. There is a separate list of activities for which the simplified regime is off the table entirely, regardless of income. It currently includes investment funds, banks, insurance and credit organizations, microfinance organizations, pawnshops, subsoil users, and a few other categories. The draft law expands this list to add:

• financial leasing
• construction of residential and non-residential buildings
• consulting, audit, and marketing services
• production of polymer products
• branches and representative offices of foreign companies
• security services
• collection, storage, processing, and supply of scrap non-ferrous and ferrous metals
• markets and large shopping centers, including leased ones
• state unitary enterprises
• production and sale of pharmaceuticals
• suppliers of heat, electricity, and gas
• iron foundries, except welding and forging work on household items, gates, and grilles
• cotton-ginning workshops
• oil-pressing workshops
• furniture manufacturing
• workshops producing plastic windows and doors
• organization of production workshops and packaging of any goods, construction, and industrial materials
• medical cosmetology and medical diagnostics, except traditional medicine
• transport and logistics services organizing passenger and freight routes
• food-service outlets — restaurants, cafés, canteens, entertainment centers, and individual retail and service outlets with an area over 100 square meters

This is Article 375 of the draft law.

And here it’s important to understand literally what this means in practice. If your business falls under this list, you don’t just lose the preferential rate — from day one of operating, you automatically become a VAT payer, regardless of your income level. This is stated directly in Article 245: it recognizes as a VAT payer «a person whose activity corresponds» to this very list under Article 375. Even if your marketing (advertising) agency earns 200,000 somoni a year (roughly USD 21,500), you are required to register and operate on the same footing as a major developer. In effect, marketing will no longer be an option under Tajikistan’s simplified taxation system — and right now that category includes small SMM companies with modest income too.

From there, it’s the full general-regime package: VAT at the standard rate — currently 14%, dropping to 13% from 2027 — and corporate income tax, 18% for consulting, audit, and marketing services. Plus full accounting records instead of simplified reporting.

The difference is substantial. A marketing agency that was paying 6% of turnover under the simplified regime yesterday could end up, under this scenario, paying several times more on the same revenue. And this applies equally to LLCs and sole proprietors operating under a certificate — the form of registration doesn’t matter here, only the type of activity does.

Patents, certificates with special conditions, foreign suppliers of remote services, and tighter control through cash registers — I’ll cover separately in the next article, so as not to overload this one.

Note: as in the first part, this material is based on the text of the draft law, which is still under consideration in the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s parliament) and is not yet a law in force. USD figures above are approximate, based on prevailing exchange rates at the time of writing, and are provided for reference only. If you spot an inaccuracy anywhere, feel free to correct it in the comments.

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Himoya Law Firm has been supporting business in Tajikistan for 10 years now: company registration in Tajikistan, choosing the optimal tax regime, tax support, and protecting business interests during audits. If your company or sole proprietorship falls under one of the listed activities, our lawyers in Tajikistan can help you work out what to do next — stay on the simplified taxation system, adjust your line of business, or prepare in advance to switch to the general regime and register as a VAT payer.